WHAT ABOUT SATURDAY?

“And they returned and prepared spices and ointments and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment, Luke 23:56

The Saturday of Holy Week is that day sandwiched between “Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday.  It is the transitional time between doubt and faith. It is a bridge between tragedy and triumph when there is no choice but to cope with what is in between.  It’s that gray day of uncertainty about what’s going to happen next and how things will work out. God willing, we can deal with Saturday!!

Jesus said, “I’m going to be handed over to the enemy.” “I am going to be crucified.” “The Elders are going to deliver me up.” But then also said, “Don’t be concerned about all of that because on the third day I will be raised!!  He told them, “Yes, I’m going to be crucified.” “Yes. I’m going to die.”  But for some reason that’s all they heard. Maybe it was because after everything negative had spoken, they couldn’t hear the truth of what God was saying.

Isn’t that what happens to us? Life speaks discouragement and negativity and we listen intently as if it has the last word. Sometimes, it’s the doctor who speaks words we rather not hear, the funeral director speaks, the judge speaks, pain speaks, heartbreak speaks, the bill collector speaks, jobs speak, spouses speak, friends speak, and even our children speak. And with all that speaking, somehow we miss what God is saying!! But make no mistake; God is always saying something–even on Saturday to remind us in our waiting, worrying and wondering – God is still working!!

Saturday will remain that transitional time between Friday and Sunday. But will it be for you, a day of angst and uncertainty or a day of Sabbath rest? Saturday is not dark and gray—cloudy or uncertain. It is live and in living color. It is a time of anticipation and celebration in honor of the Love that would not let us go!!!  In fact the promise is,

Saturday is the day that the Lord has made.  Let’s rejoice and be glad in it because our   SAVIOR LIVES and because HE LIVES—we live to  face our tomorrows!!

The Blessings of Praise

“I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. Psalm 34:1 (KJV)

I have discovered that the best cure for self-pity and complaint is to consider the plight of others before our own. No matter what we are going through, there is always someone who is going through and enduring that same thing at a deeper level. A visit to any type of shelter, foster care facility, nursing home, or hospital ICU is a sobering and transforming experience. Better still, simply reading or watching the daily news will open our eyes. What keeps me humbled and focused is something I read many years ago: “I complained because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.”

We are Blessed as Christians because we have God’s promise that no matter what we are going through, God will never leave nor forsake us.  More importantly, we have God’s Holy Word.  And if we will read, study and rely on it, it has the power to nourish and fortify our spirits.

Before we take our concerns to social media, we should take them to the Lord in prayer and trust our omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent God for the results. God hears every prayer, and will answer in God’s own time and way. And when we are ready to listen and not take matters into our own ill-equipped hands–God does speak. When we learn to truly and fully trust God in advance of every Blessing, we learn that God is faithful, just and inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3).

So, beloveds, we should never lose our faith. We should never lose our hope nor our love, but most of all—WE SHOULD NEVER LOSE OUR PRAISE!!!

Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. 2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. 3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. 4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. 5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. 6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. (Psalm 150 King James Version (KJV))

You Know You Are Aging

“Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.” Psalm 71:9 King James Version)

Here’s hoping my fellow “Baby Boomers” can relate to some of these.

You know you are aging when:

1. Everything hurts and what doesn’t hurt, doesn’t work.
2. The gleam in your eyes is from the sun hitting your bifocals.
3. Your Little Black Book has only names ending in M.D.
4. You get winded playing Chess.
5. Your children begin to look middle-aged.
6. You finally reach the top of the ladder, and find it leaning against the wrong wall.
7. You decide to procrastinate but then never get around to it.
8. A dripping faucet causes an uncontrollable bladder urge.
9. You know all the answers, but nobody asks you the questions.
10. You walk with your head held high trying to get used to your bifocals.
11. Your favorite part of the newspaper is 25 Years Ago Today.
12. You turn out the light in the bedroom for economic and not romantic reasons.
13. You sit in a rocking chair and can’t make it go.
14. Your knees buckle and your belt won’t.
15. After “painting the town red,” you have to take a long rest before applying a second coat.
16. You remember today that yesterday was your wedding anniversary.
17. The best part of your day is over when your alarm clock goes off.
18. Your back goes out more than you do.
19. A fortune-teller offers to read your face.
20. The little gray-haired woman you help across the street is your wife.
21. You get exercise acting as a pallbearer for your friend who exercised.
22. You have too much room in the house and not enough in the medicine cabinet.
23. You sink your teeth into a steak and they stay there.
24. You feel like “the morning after,” and you haven’t been anywhere.
25. You have to put on an old pair of eyeglasses to find your new pair.

It’s a Blessing to be able to “think” and to “laugh” at ANY age, but even more Blessed to know that God’s Love and care for each of us is AGELESS and EVERGREEN!

“Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age: they shall be fat and flourishing . . . .”  Psalm 92:13-14 (KJV)